Beverage giant Anheuser-Busch Inbev made a more than $100 billion offer last month to buy its main competitor, SABMiller. The resulting conglomerate will be by far the largest beer beverage company in the world with annual sales of more than $55 billion.
The new company will be in an excellent position to navigate the lucrative but ever-changing landscape of the $100 billion U.S. beer market. In the last five years alone, Americans' drinking preferences have substantially shifted. Once unassailable beers such as Budweiser and Miller High Life have seen sales decline by more than 25% from 2009 through 2014. Meanwhile, sales of such beers as Modelo Especial and Stella Artois -- once more marginal brands in the United States -- have more than doubled. Based on five-year declines in U.S. sales, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 10 beers Americans are no longer drinking.
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Most of the beers with the largest declines are well-established brands that have been popular choices among Americans for years. They include brands such as Milwaukee’s Best, Old Milwaukee, Miller High Life, and even Budweiser, which was once the most popular brand in the country.
Beer Marketer’s Insights executive editor Eric Shepard explained to 24/7 Wall St. that this is part of a widespread trend in the United States of many established top brands taking a significant hit.
According to Shepard: “It's been a very difficult period for mainstream brands, particularly full-calorie mainstream brands, but that's also [true] with the major light brands as well.” Despite huge investments from their parent companies, sales figures for many of the top selling beers in the U.S. continue on a downward trend. “They know this, they are doing what they can to address this, and so far their efforts have not been that successful.”
One of main causes of this shift away from once-popular brands was the recession that began in 2007. People who typically consumed mainstream beers were, according to Shepard, the hardest hit during this time. Even as the economy has recovered, this crucial demographic has not returned to full strength.
The other major factor that has taken a considerable bite out of the market share of these brands has been the astronomical rise in the popularity of specialty and craft beers. According to the Brewer’s Association, while overall U.S. beer sales increased by 0.4% last year, craft beer sales were up by 19.6%. Brands such as Blue Moon and shandy brand Leinenkugel, both of which are owned by a major beverage company, have capitalized on this trend. Americans, and particularly millennials, are choosing brands that are labeled as “craft” beers, even as they sell more than 1 million barrels a year.
To identify the 10 beers Americans are no longer drinking, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed sales figures provided by Beer Marketer’s Insights on all brands with more than 400,000 barrels shipped in either 2008 or 2014.
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These are the 10 beers Americans no longer drink.
10. Budweiser
> Sales change (2009-2014): -26.0%
> Parent company: Anheuser-Busch InBev
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 14.4 million
Like three other beer brands on this list, as well as five of the fastest-growing brands, Budweiser is owned by multinational behemoth Anheuser-Busch InBev, the largest brewing company in the world. The company aims to expand its reach even further. In September 2015, the company announced its plans to purchase rival SABMiller -- the owner of several other brands on this list and the world’s second largest beer maker. Some analysts believe the proposed deal, while raising fears of a potential monopoly, is a response to its falling market share and part of AB InBev’s efforts to increase its presence in emerging markets such as Africa, where SABMiller is already relatively popular.
Meanwhile, sales of Budweiser, the so-called King of Beers, have dropped by 26% over the five years ending in 2014, the 10th largest decline among major beer brands in the United States. While rising craft beer sales can largely account for the short-term decline, Budweiser’s longer-term drop can be attributed to the growth in demand for light beer, such as Bud Light -- by far the largest beer brand by market share in the country.
9. Natural Light
> Sales change (2009-2014): -26.6%
> Parent company: Anheuser-Busch InBev
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 6.8 million
Anheuser-Busch introduced Natural Light in 1977 as the brewer’s first light beer, five years before Bud Light. Natural Light grew to be one of the top-selling cheap beers in the U.S., selling 9.3 million barrels of beer domestically in 2009. Like many of the country’s largest, most well-known beers, sales of Natural Light have declined significantly in recent years. From 2009 through 2014, U.S. sales of Natural Light fell by 26.6%, one of the largest declines of any beer. The inexpensive beer is classified as sub-premium, a category of beers valued for their low price over their quality. According to user input on RateBeer.com, Natural Light is considered the worst beer in the world.
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8. Miller High Life
> Sales change (2009-2014): -27.3%
> Parent company: SABMiller
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 3.8 million
The parent company of Miller High Life, MillerCoors, is the second largest brewer in the nation by market share. The company claims roughly 30% of U.S. beer sales, trailing only AB InBev. Miller High Life is a slightly higher-alcohol variation of the popular Miller Lite brand -- the fourth largest beer brand in the country, with 13.4 million barrels sold last year. Miller High Life however was slightly less popular, selling only 3.8 million barrels. Last year’s sales figures represent a 27.3% decline from five years earlier when the company sold 5.2 million barrels of Miller High Life. Sales of Miller Lite declined by 18.4% over the same period.
7. Tecate
> Sales change (2009-2014): -29.4%
> Parent company: Heineken N.V.
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 1.0 million
Tecate is owned by Heineken, which also owns Dos Equis, a similar style beer but also a far more popular one. Dutch company Heineken is the third largest brewer by global market share and has the resources to boost marketing for its brands. Tecate sales have fallen by 29.4% in the five years ending in 2014, but Heineken has not given up on selling Tecate in the United States. In fact, in a widely covered bidding war, the Heineken-owned brand outbid its rival Corona for the rights to advertise in the welterweight championship boxing bout between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in May of this year. The sponsorship cost Heineken $5.6 million, a record for the event. It remains to be seen if such efforts will succeed in revitalizing the brand.
6. Old Milwaukee
> Sales change (2009-2014): -38.1%
> Parent company: Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, LLC.
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 610,000
Old Milwaukee is one of the fastest shrinking beer brands in the United States. While total beer sales in the country declined by 1.0% over the five years since 2009, sales of Old Milwaukee declined by as much as 38.1% over the same time period.
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Though 2014 sales figures were low for the Midwestern beer, 2009 sales were not outstanding compared to other major brands. Old Milwaukee shipped just 985,000 barrels, more beer than only six of the 35 major beer brands sold in the United States that year.
5. Milwaukee's Best Light
> Sales change (2009-2014): -40.0%
> Parent company: SABMiller
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 900,000
Like both Milwaukee’s Best and Milwaukee’s Best Ice, sales of Milwaukee’s Best Light are declining. In 2009, Milwaukee’s Best Light sold 1.5 million barrels. By 2014, sales of the light beer declined to just 900,000 barrels. The 40.0% decrease was the fifth largest of any beer brand in the country during that time. The sales decline was part of a nationwide trend of craft beer sales outpacing -- and in some cases exceeding -- those of larger, more well-known beers.
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4. Bud Light Lime
> Sales change (2009-2014): -43.0%
> Parent company: Anheuser-Busch InBev
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 1.1 million
As domestic consumers have begun to favor craft beers over large, well-known ones, beers such as Bud Light Lime have suffered. Bud Light Lime was the the 15th largest beer brand in the nation in 2009, selling 2 million barrels. By 2014, however, Bud Light Lime sold 1.1 million barrels, its rank dropping to 25th largest in the country. In that period, Bud Light Lime’s market share was surpassed by beers such as Stella Artois, Dos Equis, Blue Moon, and Modelo. The overall sales decline of 43.0% was the fourth largest of any beer brand.
3. Miller Genuine Draft
> Sales change (2009-2014): -54.5%
> Parent company: SABMiller
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 1.0 million
Miller Genuine Draft, or MGD, was first introduced by MillerCoors in 1986 and brewed with a cold-filtering process intended to mimic the taste of draft beer. In the 1990s, MGD marketing tried to appeal to the average American with its macro brew ad campaign, telling consumers: “It’s time for beer to stop acting like wine.” With the increased popularity of micro brews in recent years, it seems MGD's image may be hurting sales. From 2009 through 2014, sales of Miller Genuine Draft plunged by 54.5%, while sales of craft beers generally increased. Due in part to the sales decline, MillerCoors is closing the plant where Miller Genuine Draft was first brewed.
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2. Milwaukee's Best
> Sales change (2009-2014): -55.7%
> Parent company: SABMiller
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 510,000
While the beer bills itself as Milwaukee’s Best, sales figures indicate otherwise. From 2009 through 2014, sales of Milwaukee’s Best sales have declined by more than 55%. In 2014, Milwaukee’s Best shipped only 510,000 barrels of beer, the lowest amount of the 35 top beer brands after only Bud Select. As is the case with Milwaukee’s Best Light, the company’s marketing of the beer emphasizes how Milwaukee’s Best is a beer for men. Explicitly excluding one half of the market may partially explain the beer’s poor sales performance.
1. Bud Select
> Sales change (2009-2014): -60.4%
> Parent company: Anheuser-Busch InBev
> Barrels shipped in 2014: 475,000
Brewed by Anheuser Busch InBev, Bud Select is part of a small family of low calorie beers, which includes Select 55 -- 55 denoting the number of calories in the beer. While Bud Select contains 99 calories, it is still much less than the 145 calories in regular Budweiser. The popularity of light beers over the past decade partially explains the market dominance of beers such as Bud Light, but the trend has not benefited the low-calorie Bud Select brand. Bud Select sales fell by 60.4% over the five years through last year, the largest decline of any major beer brand sold in the United States.
Click here to see the fastest growing beer brands in America.
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